THE LAST SURVIVORS
Episode 2
Austin stepped into the room when Melinda saw it was her boyfriend,she threw herself at him “What is it? What is wrong with you?” “I don’t know.I feel fear.I was on the phone with an old friend when he suddenly went silent and after a few moments,I heard..I think a woman crying in desperation like she was being killed” “Where is your phone?” “It is in my room”,replied Melind.The two of them went into the room and saw the phone on the bed ringing.Austin picked it up and gave it to her.The call was coming from Michael. “Hello Michael! What was that? Who was the woman being killed?” “Are you sure you are okay?I was on line saying ‘hello’,but you said nothing” explained Michael “I am sure I heard a woman crying desperately.You were silent” “Are you still alone?” Asked Michael “No my boyfriend is here now”,replied Melinda and say goodbye to Michael and hung up the phone
Melinda searched her phonebook,looking for a mumber;she found it and placed a call to another friend of hers.The phone rang momentarily and the friend picked it up “Hi Lanre!” “What’s up Melinda?” Lanre’s voice sounded groovy and made Melinda to ask. “I guess you haven’t heard about Angelique’s death?” “Are you high on something Melinda? Angelique is here with me.We are at the Beach Palm Resort”,said Lanre “You are with who?What you have beside you is a ghost! Angelique died this morning on Maya Avenue! Lanre run!Run away from her!” “Are you nuts Melinda?From where I am standing now,I can see Angelique dancing with my friends” “Go to her and put her on the phone.I want to speak with her” “Okay, Melinda,drop the call,once I get to her we will call you”
Melinda sat down on the sofa wondering if she had gone insane, “Why are all the dead people I know coming back to life.Baby,the guy I spoke with earlier on had been dead for six years now.At least I was told he died in a plane crash six years ago in malta.And this morning I ran into him alive and well in a drug store.Right now Lanre is calling to be at Beach Palm Resort with Angelique,who died this morning” “How did He died?” Asked Austin “Friends told me;I got a call from one of them while I was in london and I saw pictures of his burial.It all happened six years ago” “And now the very Angelique who showed you pictures of Michael’s burial is dead and somehow back to life according to Lanre”, said Austin as he pondered the mystery
Melinda kept glancing her phone for Lanre’s call as he had promised earlier. When the wait seemed interminable, Melinda asked Austin to dial Lanre’s number. Austin obliged her request and called Lanre from Melinda’s phone. Lanre’s phone rang but no one picked it “Call him back! Something is wrong!” Melinda almost scared Austin out of his skin by the way she shouted. “Okay love, you don’t have to shout that way,I am dialing his number again.Can you calm your nerves please?” This time the phone didn’t ring, they got through to the answering machine which said the number was not available. At this point Melinda could not bear the suspense any longer;she sort of crashed.
******
By the next day Melinda convened a meeting of all her old friends so they could figure out what was going on.Michael cited a few reasons and opted out of the meeting.When they all gathered in Melinda house, Obiorah informed Melinda that Lanre was in the hospital.The story was that he had strangely lost his memory the previous night in search of someone amongst the crowd on the beach.He kept running looking for a woman,when he was asked who he was looking for he could not supply her name.This Lanre kept doing all night until he collapsed and began to foam in the mouth.His friends at the beach rushed him to a hospital where the doctors diagnosed him to have had memory loss.
“I know the woman Lanre was looking for”,said Melinda.All her friends eyes turned and stared at her,she continued “Lanre was looking for Angelique.They were somehow together last night at the Beach Palm” Melinda’s friends thought that she had gone nuts
“Melinda are you okay? Angelique died yesterday morning how could she be with Lanre by night?” Asked Obiorah “I spoke with Lanre when he was at the Beach last night nd he said he was with Angelique. Austin can bear me witness” “Yes,I was here and I heard everything”, said Austin
“That’s not all,friends,Michael Ighalo is in town.Somehow he is no longer dead.I met him yesterday morning”,said Melinda. Melinda’s words hit three people in her living room like bullets;Obiorah,Verah and Simon. Obiorah fell off his seat as though an invisble hand had hit him and began to gasp for breath. Verah and Simon were swallowing saliva nervously. “Verah what are you three afraid of?” Asked Melinda “Michael cannot be alive.My very eyes saw his corpse in Malta and so did Angelique,Lanre,Obiorah and Simon.
You see he can’t be alive.You must have seen a ghost”,said Verah “The person I saw was in flesh and blood.Just like you saw his corpse,so have I seen him alive and have spoke with him”.
To be continued
